• General Information:
I. Allegro assai
II. Lento sognando
III. Alla Cubana
IV. Lento
V. Presto con slancio
• Composition: 1975–6, based on the Five Bagatelles for Guitar. The last movement was rewritten in 1977.
• First Performance: 4 May 1976. Royal Festival Hall, London. London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn conductor.
• Duration: About 14 minutes
• Craggs Catalogue Number: C86a
• Instrumentation: 3 flutes (third doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons – 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba – timpani, 3 percussion (xylophone, cymbals, bass drum, side drum, tambourine, glockenspiel, claves, bongos, gong) – celesta – harp – strings
• Manuscript: Frederick R. Koch Collection. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Manuscript FRKF 613.
FRKF 613a – Autograph full score of original version. 43 pages.
FRKF 613b – Autograph full score of the revised last movement. 11 pages.
FRKF 613c – Autograph score of a coda written for Sir Frederick Ashton’s ballet (see below). 1 leaf. This sheet contains the last music Walton wrote before his death.
• Publication: Oxford University Press, 1978. Score and parts are available on hire. Materials available for purchase:
Varii capricci | 1978 | Study score | ISBN 019 3684535 | Buy from SheetMusicPlus.com |
• Arrangements: Five Bagatelles for Guitar and Orchestra, arranged by Patrick Russ (1992)
This arrangement incorporates elements of Varii capricci together with the original Five Bagatelles for Guitar.
• Adaptations: The music for Varii capricci formed the basis of the following ballet:
Varii capricci. Choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton. First Performance: 19 April 1983. Metropolitan Opera House, New York. Ashley Lawrence conductor. David Hockney scenery. Ossie Clark costumes. John B. Read lighting. Cast included Antoinette Sibley, La Capricciosa; Anthony Dowell, Lo Straniero.
• Recordings:
Orchestra | Conductor | Year | Compact Disc | Timing |
London Philharmonic Orchestra | Bryden Thomson | 1990 | Chandos CHAN 8862 | 14’49” |
For additional recordings of this music, see the following arrangement: Five Bagatelles for Guitar and Orchestra, arranged by Patrick Russ (1992)